Fire lit up the evening sky in Sparta during the evening of January 14, at the Sparta Trades located at 580 Rt. 15, a commercial building containing several businesses.

As many as 12 local fire departments worked together to get the firey blaze under control, after Sparta Twp., Lafayette and Ogdensburg fire departments were dispatched for a report of heavy smoke coming from the building.

Sparta's Tower-Ladder 9, operated by Andy Smetana and Bob Shuggart worked from the front of the structure, while Newton's Tower 804, working from a tanker shuttle draft pool, doused flames on the building's exterior B-side.

Mutual aid came from numerous surrounding towns. Eight tanker trucks were supplied from Andover, Hopatcong, Hampton, Jefferson and Green townships. Fire station relocation standby was handled by Branchville, Hardyston, Fredon and Jefferson Townships.

The blaze took over two hours to extinguish. Insistent hot spots caused two smaller rekindles that took place at approximately 11 p.m. that night and 5am the next morning, causing the Sparta Twp. Fire Dept. to be re-dispatched to the scene..